HOT & SOUR SOUP

Now here's a fabulous way to use up your leftover chicken.
This quick HOT & SOUR NOODLE SOUP was  so delicious we'll be making it again soon. It's not difficult to make, and if you don't have all the ingredients, try substituting.
Why not try different versions? Instead of chicken, you could use more vegetables, beef or prawns. Buying a packet of stir fry vegetables is the cheapest option. Use the supermarket deli - purchase a couple of slices of rare roast beef - slice and add to the soup.
After looking through various recipes, we came up with a version that suited what we had in the cupboards. We estimate this soup somewhere around 200 calories. A very warm and inviting lunch or starter, worth giving this one a try if you can. Will we be making this again? Yes! Here's how we made it:

Baked fish & curly fries

This is a light and delicious combination - COD IN BREADCRUMBS with curly fries. Everything was baked, making the dish extremely low in calories too. A great alternative to the fish and chip takeaway.
We cut a 300g piece of COD into four centimetre chunks, then dipped in seasoned flour, egg and white breadcrumbs. This makes the fish go a lot further - and 100g of fish is ample for one portion.  These were then baked for just 10 minutes in a hot oven (180ºC).
The curly fries were made using a Japanese mandolin. We used one large potato per person. They were seasoned with bbq spice and placed onto a greased tray, sprayed with oil and baked for 30 minutes until golden brown.
If you need a little more information about this dish, here's a link to our previous more detailed recipe - cod and chips. You'll be amazed at just how moist and delicious the fish is when baked like this.
So how many calories in this baked cod and curly fries? Well, we would estimate this dish at around 450 calories.

Do you know how many calories you are allowed each day?

Here's a link to our very first blog post about our weight loss journey, which we began in January 2011. We started this blog as a way of recording what we ate while losing weight. The blog is a food diary, and contains lots of recipes, tips and ideas about losing weight.

You'll find our WEIGHT LOSS PLAN here. 

Copyright © forget dieting forever (2014), all rights reserved. Please do not copy any of this material without my express permission.

Beef Stroganoff

We wondered what to do with some LEFT OVER BEEF, and after surveying the contents of the fridge, we opted for a simple BEEF STROGANOFF. What better way to use up the solitary green pepper and some mushrooms.
We were undecided whether to use greek yoghurt (and save calories) or sour cream for authenticity. Sour cream is around 200 calories per 100ml whereas the same amount of full-fat Greek yoghurt contains around 135 calories. With little difference in calories - we decided to use sour cream on our first tasting attempt. We estimate the stroganoff recipe below at around 350 calories per portion. Add a small portion of rice (50g dried weight each) at 175 calories and you have a very tasty dish at around 525 calories per portion.However, divide by three portions and you will be looking at a satisfying dish (with rice) at around 350 calories - amazing! Here's the recipe we used and what we thought of the end result:

BARA BRITH

For this fabulous tea-bread - BARA BRITH - we used a recipe from the Great British Bake Off - by Beca Lyne-Perkis. It's a great alternative to a heavy, rich fruit cake. The resulting 1.2 kg loaf is enough to feed the whole family and all of your friends over Christmas! Toast it, or just eat with butter and perhaps a slice of cheese or two.
This Bara Brith contains yeast - but you can also make it without, with a more cake like texture. Either way, the loaf's malty flavour comes from the infusion of strong tea. The mixed spice also gives it a very festive allure.
With regard to calories - this is significantly lower in calories than a fruit cake, and we estimate each medium slice at around 130 calories.
REMEMBER:  - Do you know how many calories you are allowed each day?

Here's a link to our very first blog post about our weight loss journey, which we began in January 2011. We started this blog as a way of recording what we ate while losing weight. The blog is a food diary, and contains lots of recipes, tips and ideas about losing weight.

You'll find our WEIGHT LOSS PLAN here. 

Copyright © forget dieting forever (2014), all rights reserved. Please do not copy any of this material without my express permission.

350 calorie chicken salad

This vibrant salad tasted as good as it looked. CHICKEN SALAD with spicy quinoa, vegetables and nuts.
Lunch was ready in no time at all. So why not pick up a ready prepared salad and sliced meats?
You can add a few more salad ingredients to bulk it out, and maybe a little cheese. We chose to add some shaved smoked applewood cheese.
Choosing a strong cheese means you can get away with eating less of it. The applewood is very strong so you'll experience all of its powerful flavour in just a few generous shavings.
For this salad I used around 10g of cheese, and I would estimate the whole dish at around 350 calories. It's almost three years since we began our weight loss journey - and we are still keeping the weight off. Why not take a look at how we took a different view - ditched faddy diets and started eating everything we wanted.

REMEMBER: We all have a calorie allowance - do you know yours?

We began our weight loss journey in January 2011 - and began our blog in June 2011. Here's a link to the first post. (here's the link).

Read about our UNIQUE METHOD of weight loss and find out how you can lose weight eating the food you love.

Copyright © forget dieting forever, all rights reserved.

Cauliflower cheese

Unfortunately I haven't got a good picture of our fabulous CAULIFLOWER CHEESE recipe ...yet, but I'll be making this next week. In any case, the dish is not the most photogenic…. As a temporary measure, I've found this lovely (unusual for our area) snowy winter scene from January last year, which is the view from our front window.
Cauliflower cheese is a great dish which you can make the day before and forget about. It can be eaten on its own or accompany lots of dishes.
At around 830 calories for the whole dish this will serve up to eight people. It's delicious and creamy - but without cream - and will add just over 100 calories to your Christmas dinner.  We love this 'no cream' version:

Carrot and potato soup

If you have a few carrots that need using up, why not try this very simple CARROT & POTATO SOUP.
We thought this was an exceptionally tasty, very fragrant and homely soup. After choosing carrot and potato soup from a pub menu, we though it deserved to be recreated at home.
We came up with this version which we think is very close in taste.
It's not only economical, but very low in calories too.
The ingredients made 1.5 litres of soup, about six portions at around 150 calories each. Serve with crunchy toast or a roll and butter.

White pudding with scallops

If you are looking for something a little bit different for the festive season, then why not try this WHITE PUDDING & SCALLOPS.
It's a wonderful zesty, spicy and fresh starter.
Unlike black pudding, white pudding has a meatier texture: it's made of pork and has lots of spice which works well with the scallops.
This starter won't break the calorie bank either. Such a lovely combination and worth trying. Here's our recipe:

Beef & mushroom fried rice

Tonight we chose BEEF & MUSHROOM fried rice with pak choi.
People we speak to say one of their greatest aids to weight loss is being prepared. We agree and we are now more likely to plan ahead for the next few meals.
Having prepared some of this dish earlier, we were able to go about our busy day, and return to a meal which was ready in less than 10 minutes. We doubt we could have eaten sooner if we had chosen a takeaway!
The mushroom, egg fried rice was very delicate, and the whole dish was around 400-450 calories - which was pretty amazing. Here's how we made it:

FESTIVE HOT OPEN SANDWICH

What a great idea for a quick festive treat! This hot open sandwich reminded me of Christmas - cranberry, parma ham, chicken and melting mozzarella.
You can use sliced chicken or turkey, but we chose to flatten a chicken breast and flash fried. Spread the ciabatta toast with cranberry sauce, top with chicken and parma ham. Grill for a minute before adding the cheese, then continue to heat under the grill until crispy. Serve with a light salad and you have a delicious hot lunch around 450 calories.

EAT GREAT AND LOSE WEIGHT.

Do you know how many calories you can eat each day?

Here's a link to our very first blog post about our weight loss journey, which we began in January 2011. We started this blog as a way of recording what we ate while losing weight. The blog is a food diary, and contains lots of recipes, tips and ideas about losing weight.

You'll find our WEIGHT LOSS PLAN here. 

Copyright © forget dieting forever (2013), all rights reserved. Please do not copy any of this material without our express permission.

JAMBALAYA

Tonight we're having a JAMBALAYA - it's an easy, spicy dish to make, and always disappears fast.  We estimate each portion at around 500 calories per serving. This is a good alternative to a curry, and for using up bits and pieces in the fridge. Our version was more a case of what was available in the fridge - rather than following an authentic recipe. 

 JAMBALAYA

Ingredients to serve 4 

50g chorizo - sliced

300g chicken breast - cubed

large tin of chopped tomatoes (400g)

2 peppers - we only had green ones, so used those

1 large onion (finely chopped)

stick of chopped celery

2 cloves garlic

1 large chilli - we used a red one and removed seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric

3 tsp cajun powder

250g basmati rice

750g chicken stock / water

dessertspoon olive oil

150g of prawns if using them

handful of peas (that's all we had to hand)

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Fry the onion and celery in a little oil for 5 minutes, then add the sliced peppers, garlic and chilli. Continue frying for couple of minutes. 

Add chicken & chorizo slices and fry for a further 5 minutes. 

Add tomatoes, rice, cajun, turmeric and stock/water. Cook until tender, but not dry. 

When almost ready to serve, add the peas and prawns (if using) and heat through for a couple more minutes. Don't forget to taste and season with salt and pepper!

****

EAT GREAT AND LOSE WEIGHT.

Do you know how many calories you can eat each day?

Here's a link to our very first blog post about our weight loss journey, which we began in January 2011. We started this blog as a way of recording what we ate while losing weight. The blog is a food diary, and contains lots of recipes, tips and ideas about losing weight.

You'll find our WEIGHT LOSS PLAN here. 

Copyright © forget dieting forever (2013), all rights reserved. Please do not copy any of this material without our express permission.

BREAD & WEIGHT LOSS

Lunch was a tasty BEEF, EGG & ONION sandwich, and it certainly hit the spot. (See how we made it below).
If you love bread, why give it up to lose weight? We carried on eating bread and believe this actually helped us. If you stop eating foods you are likely to crave, you might just find you eat more of it. Perhaps you'll find yourself skulking around the bread bin, sneaking a slice of bread here or there? Why go through the torture.
Embrace bread and try different flavours, like we do. Just keep a balanced approach, vary your diet and enjoy your food.
We counted the calories in this tasty sandwich

Thinly sliced pork loin

I've quite often seen THINLY SLICED PORK LOIN sold in packs in the supermarket and wondered what I could do with them. Our recipe certainly turned the pork into something much more interesting. 

You'll find this very simple way of serving pork will make it go further too! The stuffing infuses the pork and helps keep it moist and tender. 

There's a similar recipe on our blog using tenderloin of pork.

Serve however you like; we chose a salad and potatoes. No need for a sauce, however, a nice dollop of this apple sauce went very well with it. It's easy enough to make. Here's our recipe:

Good old sausage and mash

Who doesn't love sausage and mash - a great comfort food for those cold days. If you need to rustle up something quickly, then why not make plenty of mashed potato and freeze ahead.
It's the time of year when time or lack of time can often lead to stress and takeaways.
Even if you don't have any prepared mash, you can always buy some. Being very busy ourselves and having to cut corners we thought we would buy our ONION GRAVY. After  surveying a few ready made gravies on the market, I found this gravy, which turned out to be so tasty, we'll be buying it again soon.  The complex flavours just lifted the dish entirely.

Takeaway chicken

The flavour of this chicken coating was as close as we could get to takeaway fried chicken - without frying anything!
The chicken and sweetcorn were cooked in the oven.
We posted the BBQ bean recipe yesterday - and would recommend you give this a try. You can make it at a fraction of the cost of its commercial equivalent. Why not feed your family for less!
The chicken had a very punchy flavour - close to a popular brand on the high street.
We estimate the whole meal (including our fabulous home made chips) at around 600 calories less than the takeaway deep fried equivalent. See how quick and easy it was to prepare and make:

SMOKY BBQ BEANS

We decided to create our own chicken takeaway meal tonight.
Who wouldn't love chicken in breadcrumbs with this really intense side of SMOKY BBQ BEANS.
The beans added that little kick which chicken often needs because it can be so bland.
The side dish was quick and easy to prepare and there was enough to feed an army! So if you're having a party, this will prove very economical (and sought after). We're not sure what we enjoyed the most …. the beans or the chicken. You tell us.
The beans are very low in calories and certainly complimented the rest of the meal. As a side dish this will easily serve four to six guests - here's the recipe:

FESTIVE SHOPPING - RAISING AWARENESS

When it comes to festive shopping why not make it a little less stressful. After hours on your feet wouldn't it be nice to come home to something you've prepared earlier? 
Being prepared is one thing, being aware is another.
While you are out shopping, look out for these eye catching Christmas tree decorations!
The UK male cancer charity ORCHID has launched a campaign to raise money for life saving research. The campaign has been endorsed by a number of celebrities too.
'Check your bauballs' - is designed to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of testicular cancer.
Why not grab a 'bauball' at just £5 each for this worthy cause.
They are available from House of Fraser stores now and from the end of November you can by them online at http://www.checkyourbauballs.com.
Why not raise a smile along with raising awareness and decorate your tree with bravado!

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Now for being prepared - this is something we like to do and it has helped us to keep the weight off. Festive shopping can be quite demanding and you probably won't want to be standing around in the kitchen rustling up a meal from scratch. So having a meal half prepared is better than arriving home with only enough energy to pick up the phone and dial a takeaway.
This PASTA AND MEATBALLS recipe will serve you well. I've no idea why I thought of this particular recipe…  but it will certainly hit the spot after a long day.
You may be surprised to find just how much you've 'worked out' while shopping. But what does all this mean for you?
During my last shopping spree I clocked up over three whole miles! Walking each mile (relative to my height and weight) was equal to working out at around 80 calories per mile - or 240 calories in total to be precise. Take in a few stairs and shun the escalator and you can add a few more calories to that total.
If you would like to know more about calories and just what it can do for you and your weight, then why not take a look at our calories page for more details. 
Now what better way to spend your calories! You can prepare most of this beforehand - here's just how easy it is to make:

Slow cooked beef curry

For this BEEF CURRY we used a supermarket beef joint labelled 'slow roast'. I wasn't too sure what part of the animal the joint came from, but it contained very little fat. 

Usually when we slow roast, we like to use meat such as brisket or shin as it has a good marbling of fat which helps tenderise the meat. 

Because we were making a this curry in the slow cooker, I thought it wouldn't matter too much. In fact, the end result was a very rich and tender curry which wasn't swimming in fat. 

If you love curry, this simple mix of spices will serve you over and over again, with all types of meat, fish and vegetables. Take a look at our recipes - we've tried the spice mix a number of times. Your initial outlay on dry spices will not be wasted - and you'll enjoy some very fresh tasting curries. This beef curry was surprisingly low in calories too (see recipe). Here's how to make it:

Chicken in tarragon sauce

Cooking food from scratch doesn't have to be time consuming.
We saved time and money by buying ready filleted chicken strips and a tub of creamy tarragon sauce. Normally we would make the  sauce, but decided this shortcut was worth testing out. With a new supermarket in town, we popped in to see what was on offer.
It was a very tasty meal to come home to, and knowing it was going to be ready within 15 minutes really helps when you are peckish.
We were pleasantly surprised the sauce had such a robust tarragon flavour. It was actually cheaper to use than buying the separate ingredients. The whole meal was surprisingly lower in calories than we anticipated too. Here's how we made this:

Easy leek and potato soup

This was our first attempt at LEEK & POTATO soup. Leeks are now in season and should taste at their best or sweetest. You'll know when something is in season because it'll be cheaper.
I chose to make mine without cream to start with, just to see how it turned out. I also used a ratio of half potato to leek - making the recipe is easy to remember.
Why not take a look at the other great soup recipes here?
Here's how I made the soup, together with a rough count of calories and what we thought of it:

Scallops and black pudding

Simple yet very tasty SCALLOPS & BLACK PUDDING. Serve these to your guests just as they are, or add a little salad and eat as a starter or main, depending on the number of scallops.
We used a very tasty black pudding from Bury's. Loved the texture of this black pudding - it didn't fall apart when fried - making it the perfect crisp for our scallops.
Black pudding is approx 380 calories per 100g, and as you use very small amounts it's hardly going to break the calorie bank.
Shared between two, our 'starter' came to around 250 calories. Take a look at how we made them - at around 40p each. We sourced our scallops in a different location than usual, so they were a bit more expensive but very fresh. Here's how we made them:

GLORIOUS RED CABBAGE

This glorious RED CABBAGE is like a jewel on the plate.
It's a very easy dish to make and freeze. Everyone loves this at Christmas and it will brighten up any plate. Very low in calories too.
What prompted me to make the red cabbage now was I spotted a huge football sized cabbage on sale at our local fruit and veg stall. It weighed just over 2 kg and cost £1. I can't resist a bargain! A couple of hours later and I had enough red cabbage to feed Bristol. The recipe below is based on a half kilo red cabbage and will feed six to eight people:

Poached eggs

Someone asked me about POACHED EGGS the other day. They were unsure how to get the best results.
This has to be one of my favourite quick fix lunches. Low in calories - 80 calories per egg - and very satisfying.
The method I use is very quick and easy, and I wished someone had told me about it earlier!
We served ours with a couple of slices of hot buttered toast, and lunch came to around 400 calories.
Here's my tip on achieving a perfect poached egg:

Secret to great pizza

After experimenting, we think we've found out why our PIZZA has risen so much.
Just look at the results - a well risen, light and fluffy pizza.
No need for an expensive pizza stone to achieve these results either.
We made the dough and prepared the topping before going out for a couple of hours. When we returned, we turned the oven on and the pizza was ready within 20 minutes. No need to dial a takeaway and this pizza is less than £1.50 each!
Here's how we made this pizza:

275 calories - hot smoked trout salad

This HOT SMOKED TROUT salad tasted as if it had a lot more calories than it actually did. It was packed with flavour and it gave my tastebuds something to think about.
It was the perfect lunch, and a great way to eat potatoes. Just 275 calories too. You could always substitute the trout for hot smoked salmon.
We've always aimed for a lunch at around 400-500 calories, so I'll be eating something else between now and dinner. There's no need to experience hunger to lose weight. You don't have to deprive yourself of anything. Why put your body under stress?
Here's our fabulous recipe:

150 calorie leftover asparagus and pea soup

ASPARAGUS AND PEA SOUP. After an extravagant weekend, we wondered what to do with the leftover asparagus. Soup was an obvious choice.
We had half a bunch of asparagus left, and of that, mainly the stems rather than the tips.
Once upon a time, the stems would have been discarded. But the flavour we extracted has certainly made us realise what you can do with just a small amount. The bonus - a bowl of luxurious soup at a fraction of the cost of its shop bought counterpart.
With just a little imagination, we turned what would have been composted into a very tasty lunch. The soup is around 150 calories per portion. Here's our easy recipe:

Roast belly of pork

If you are roasting BELLY OF PORK - it's the perfect opportunity to go for a walk - and a little exercise never goes amiss.
In fact we often take the opportunity to walk while something is slow roasting. It looks after itself and doesn't mind if you're too late back. Walking is a great exercise and burns a few calories helping us to keep the balance right.
Although the pork belly is a fatty cut of meat,

Spicy BBQ beef ball in breadcrumbs

This little morsel - BBQ beef in breadcrumbs -was a bit of a showstopper. We wanted to add a little texture and crunch to our dining experience, where we were cooking 'beef three ways'.
The beef ball recipe although experimental, turned into one of the finer elements on the plate.
Our guests were more than impressed and so were we! The beef ball was placed ceremoniously on a bed of sweet onion puree (I'll post that recipe later) and helped balance the whole plate.
Everyone wanted to know how to make them. We had searched for something akin online, and found nothing, so we came up with our own recipe.
They would certainly work as appetisers on their own. Here's our recipe:

Beef with orange spiced carrots and onion puree

This was our dinner party meal - which we enjoyed experimenting with.
Yesterday I posted how to make the balls of beef, and today I'm concentrating on the ORANGE SPICED CARROTS which will compliment lots of meals.
The dinner is more time consuming than technical, but the bonus, especially when you are entertaining, is that a lot of the components can be prepared beforehand.
Besides the melody of beef, the sweet onion puree and orange spiced carrots were a firm favourite. Even if you are cooking a simple beef dish - dressing up the vegetables like this is easy to do.
Take a look at this fabulous recipe for the

Spiced orange cake

I baked this spicy orange cake using a Mary Berry recipe. The recipe involves cooking a whole orange and adding it to the cake mix. I was intrigued.
Although I followed the cake recipe, I made a slightly different butter cream icing. Instead of mascarpone, I used cream cheese.
The cake was beautifully moist with a soft, crumbly texture. It was slightly more dense than your every day sponge cake, although not stodgy. The home made candied peel was very refreshing too. If you ever fancy a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake, then this is definitely one to try.
***
Do you know how many calories you can eat each day?

Here's a link to our very first blog post about our weight loss journey, which we began in January 2011. We started this blog as a way of recording what we ate while losing weight. The blog is a food diary, and contains lots of recipes, tips and ideas about losing weight.

You'll find our WEIGHT LOSS PLAN here. 

Copyright © forget dieting forever (2013), all rights reserved. Please do not copy any of this material without our express permission.

Minced beef chilli

Chilli con carne is a favourite in our household. Quick and easy to prepare and freezes well, so why not double up on ingredients.
I used this BBC Good Food recipe as a guide to see how the well the spices worked together, although I used  a whole fresh chilli rather than chilli powder. The heat slowly builds on the palate, rather being a raw kick of heat. For this dish we used one large chilli including the seeds. Instead of adding a little sugar, I added a square of dark chocolate (as suggested). I can certainly recommend this recipe which has a good depth of flavour.
REMEMBER: We all have a calorie allowance - do you know yours?

Read about our UNIQUE METHOD of weight loss - eating the food we really prefer to eat, rather than   being told to eat. It's all about taking control - you make the decisions.

Copyright © forget dieting forever, all rights reserved.

CHICKEN GRAVY & VEGETABLES

Tasty gravy is often banned on a typical 'diet' yet it can, to some of us, be the most important part of the meal.
We love this sort of meal and often find ourselves eating it when we've had less vegetables than usual. Perhaps we listen more to our bodies now? We enjoyed this chicken dinner again this weekend.
For the gravy, we generally don't use stock cubes. The naturally intense flavour of the chicken can easily be achieved: here's how to make tasty gravy and how to cook a very moist roast chicken.
Meat and two veg might be an old fashioned standard, and it can be achieved without too much fuss and bother. The bonus - you'll have a very filling meal without too many calories.
The leftover chicken went into a hearty chicken soup - using the stock and a little pearl barley, which we are eating today.
***
Do you know how many calories you can eat each day?

Here's a link to our very first blog post about our weight loss journey, which we began in January 2011. We started this blog as a way of recording what we ate while losing weight. The blog is a food diary, and contains lots of recipes, tips and ideas about losing weight.

You'll find our WEIGHT LOSS PLAN here. 

Copyright © forget dieting forever (2013), all rights reserved. Please do not copy any of this material without our express permission.

CRISPS & SNACKS

We were chatting with a friend who has a very physical job. He said he couldn't understand why he was putting on weight when he only ate one meal a day. On closer examination, it emerged he could easily eat FOUR BAGS OF CRISPS - one after the other, as a snack.
With such a physical job, he was probably looking for the salt. A half decent bacon sandwich would probably work out to be lower in calories and be a lot more satisfying. Or perhaps he could have eaten a hearty breakfast? This simple HAM & EGGS is around 500 calories - less than three bags of crisps.
When we explained this to him he couldn't quite believe it. It's easy to ignore or simply not register what you are eating between meals. The snack habit can be difficult to break - but when you snack because of hunger, then eating more at proper meal times can help break that habit.
Once we started eating enough at meal times, we soon put hunger at bay.

****

REMEMBER: We all have a calorie allowance - do you know yours?

We began our weight loss journey in January 2011 - and began our blog in June 2011. Here's a link to the first post. (here's the link).

We like to post our main meals to show you what CAN be eaten. You won’t find us posting every last morsel though – but we hope this gives you an idea of how far calories can go! I'm currently going through the photographs and replacing them with more website friendly versions which will allow the blog to load quickly. 

Read about our UNIQUE METHOD of weight loss and find out how you can lose weight eating the food you love.

Copyright © forget dieting forever, all rights reserved.

Turkey, bacon & lettuce

Here's a lovely combination - turkey, bacon & lettuce. The turkey was exceptionally moist and goes perfectly with the salty bacon. Soft fluffy white bread, toasted on one side gives a chewy, crunchy bite.
We spread the toasted side of the bread with cranberry sauce, topped with turkey, bacon and finally lettuce. Add a dollop of good mayonnaise on the other slice of bread.
To achieve tender, moist slices of turkey breast we used this method:

Short rib of beef

We bought JACOB'S LADDER (short rib of beef) the other day but ended up with far too much - double the quantity we actually needed.
So... we decided to try the short rib cooked two ways.
The other day we braised the beef ribs in a slow-cooker overnight, using this fabulous short rib of beef recipe.
This time we slow roasted the meat in the oven after rubbing the beef with spices. Slightly more expensive to roast in the oven, but was it worth the effort and expense?

Weekday cajun chicken

This cajun chicken meal is one of our favourites. It's so quick and easy to put together. Serve with buttered new potatoes and you have a delicious meal at around 450 calories.
If you cut the chicken breast open and flatten it slightly, it should cook more evenly. We coated ours in cajun seasoning then fried in a little oil.
We're not afraid to use oil and butter in our meals, because we think this helps to fill us up. We're not talking of using large amounts (as you may have seen on television). A little goes a long way!

REMEMBER: We all have a calorie allowance - do you know yours?

We began our weight loss journey in January 2011 - and began our blog in June 2011. Here's a link to the first post. (here's the link).

We like to post our main meals to show you what CAN be eaten. You won’t find us posting every last morsel though – but we hope this gives you an idea of how far calories can go! I'm currently going through the photographs and replacing them with more website friendly versions which will allow the blog to load quickly. 

Here's our UNIQUE METHOD of weight loss. Lose weight eating the food you enjoy most. 

Copyright © forget dieting forever, all rights reserved.

Jacob's Ladder

Now this cut of beef is very cheap - JACOB'S LADDER is also known as short rib of beef. All it requires is long, slow cooking.
It's not a common cut and I've never seen it in the supermarket. We bought ours from the butcher, who generally supplies local restaurants with this particular cut.
It has to be one of the tastiest cuts of 'budget' beef you can possibly buy. The end result is slightly sweeter than the more well know 'shin' of beef.
I'm not sure if my Mum ate it or inhaled it, as it disappeared so quickly! Not bad on calories either!

Mini bread rolls

Have fun serving these delicious herby MINI BREAD ROLLS. We loved the shape of these, having used our mini muffin tins to achieve a playful shape.

Each bread roll weighed around 40g - and with butter that's equal to approx 100 calories each. But... can you stop at one? Suggest you make these when you are expecting guests... they will be delighted and your weight loss will not be compromised as they disappear. 

We think you should be able to bag these up and pop into the freezer. You can then remove them one at a time! 

We made plain rolls, and some were infused with fresh thyme, sage and black onion seeds. Our favourite was the onion seed rolls.

Here's our fab recipe:

CREAMY FISH PIE

There's nothing quite like a comforting CREAMY FISH PIE.  
Why load the pie with creme fraiche or cream, when you can halve the calories with this fabulous recipe. The creaminess is still there, you lose nothing in flavour, and the sauce can be used for other recipes - such as chicken pie etc. 

Depending on your appetite, this huge fish pie will serve between four and six people.
If you divide between four, then each portion works out at around 660 calories.
Divide between SIX people and each portion will be around 440 calories.
We loved everything about this dish - and you must give it a try! We chose a different kind of white fish than your normal COD. But you can choose whatever fish you fancy for this dish. Fish is extremely expensive, and you might want to shop for bits and pieces of fish when they are on offer - placing them in the freezer until you are ready. Alternatively, the supermarket offers bags of frozen fish - which seems relatively cheap in comparison to fresh fish. Here's our fabulous recipe:

Cheese & bacon

If you want to lose weight, it's always so much easier when eating food you actually enjoy.
At around 400 calories - this hot and cold salad proved to be a winner. This goat's cheese and bacon salad is a great way to serve bacon. Just add a few of your favourite salad items to a bag of salad and begin the assembly job!
We each ate 50g of goat's cheese and two large rashers of bacon. Cut out circles of bread (whatever you prefer) and toast one side. Place the slices of goat's cheese on the other side then grill. Our bread circles weighed around 25g per person - but looked so much more on the plate. Add your favourite relish.
We usually dress our salad leaves with a good oil as it helps to fill us up.
REMEMBER: We all have a calorie allowance - do you know yours?

We began our weight loss journey in January 2011 - and began our blog in June 2011. Here's a link to the first post. (here's the link).

We like to post our main meals to show you what CAN be eaten. You won’t find us posting every last morsel though – but we hope this gives you an idea of how far calories can go! I'm currently going through the photographs and replacing them with more website friendly versions which will allow the blog to load quickly. 

Read about our UNIQUE METHOD of weight loss and find out how you can lose weight eating the food you love.

Copyright © forget dieting forever, all rights reserved.

Leftover chicken

The glorious colour of this CHICKEN & VEGETABLE SOUP comes from the home made stock. All natural ingredients. 
We enjoyed a roast chicken dinner yesterday, and used the carcass to make the stock for this soup. If you've never attempted to make stock before, you must give this a go. No amount of shop bought stock cubes could ever achieve the same depth flavour! 
The soup was around 250 calories per 300g serving and that includes the handful of pearl barley to boost the calories in the soup. I made six hearty portions - at very little cost. Here's our fab budget recipe:

Sausage rolls

Today we're having a bit of a get together. On the lunch menu we have one of our firm favourites - SAUSAGE ROLLS.
Calories in these sausage rolls are not as bad as I imagined because of the high meat content. Cooking from scratch means you take control of the ingredients. Quite often we'll end up with a lower calorie meal, compared to its ready made equivalent. 
We think these home made sausage rolls are brilliant - a bit of a cooking cheat, and just so easy and quick to make. Everyone will love coming to your house if you make these meaty sausage rolls, which will disappear in no time. Save time: double up on quantity and put some uncooked sausage rolls into the freezer. Here's our cheat's sausage roll recipe:

Lamb chops

Deliciously sweet and juicy, these LAMB CHOPS were just about perfect. They were huge so we cooked them for about 4 minutes each side (from room temperature) then let them rest for 8 minutes. Eat them with a side salad and new potatoes, or as we did today, with purple sprouting broccoli and carrots.
We usually enjoy English lamb, but spotted the Welsh lamb on offer. We think the lamb has a slightly different flavour - although both have their own uniqueness.
Most supermarkets sell packs of four lamb chops for around £5 - £6 depending on weight. Not much more than some ready meals - and you get a lot more meat for your money this way. The whole meal is ready in under 30 minutes too. At around 500 calories for this plateful, there is enough room for dessert.

REMEMBER: We all have a calorie allowance - do you know yours?

We began our weight loss journey in January 2011 - and began our blog in June 2011. Here's a link to the first post. (here's the link).

We like to post our main meals to show you what CAN be eaten. You won’t find us posting every last morsel though – but we hope this gives you an idea of how far calories can go! I'm currently going through the photographs and replacing them with more website friendly versions which will allow the blog to load quickly. 

Read about our UNIQUE METHOD of weight loss and find out how you can lose weight eating the food you love.

Copyright © forget dieting forever, all rights reserved.

Steak, egg & potato wedges

Colourful steak, egg & potato wedges was our way of relaxing after almost a week away. We decided to share a steak with some oven baked wedges, fried egg and salad.
Weight loss doesn't have to mean giving up your favourite food.
We've lost lots of weight eating all types of food but generally avoiding processed food, especially low-fat processed food. Why not just enjoy fresh, honest food?
After our short break, we found our weight was the same before and after. We no longer think a holiday is an excuse to eat and drink everything in sight. Instead, we've learned to eat and drink whatever we fancy every day.
Our meal tonight was possibly around 650 calories, but it was very filling and a nice way to end some fabulous days away.
REMEMBER: We all have a calorie allowance - do you know yours?

We began our weight loss journey in January 2011 - and began our blog in June 2011. Here's a link to the first post. (here's the link).

We like to post our main meals to give you an idea of just how far calories can go! It's up to you what you eat.

Read about our UNIQUE METHOD of weight loss and find out how you can have the food and drink you love while losing weight. 

Copyright © forget dieting forever, all rights reserved.

BEEF BOLOGNESE

I made this BEEF LASAGNE (new recipe) after cooking a batch of bolognese sauce with the intention of making a spaghetti bolognese.
Unfortunately, I used cheaper pre-packed minced beef, but found the grainy texture of the meat disappointing, and I didn't want to use it in a spaghetti bolognese.
Without wishing to waste all my hard work, I reasoned the bolognese would benefit from further slow cooking. And... I wasn't disappointed either; the resulting lasagne, slow cooked in the oven yesterday, proved to be a hit and was devoured in minutes. What a great rescue plan.
Making meals from scratch takes effort and time - both can be in short supply! Then if things go wrong, it can be very frustrating. So, as I've just learned, it makes sense to start with good ingredients. They may cost a bit more, but the end result will be worth it.
I'm experimenting with garlic too - and found this smoked garlic (front of pic) in Morrisons supermarket at just 59p. I wish I could 'attach' the wonderful smoky aroma to this post!
We love pasta, and have eaten it right from the start of our fabulous weight loss. It's filling, tasty and this lasagne for example is under 500 calories! What more can you ask? Oh, and egg pasta is more filling because it contains egg (protein).
If you are going to turn this beef bolognese into a LASAGNE here's a link to how we achieved the perfectly smooth white sauce - it never fails!!
Here's the NEW bolognese recipe I was trying out - experimenting with smoked garlic and other vegetables. The sauce was positively bursting with so much flavour.